Author Archives: Will Gons

Meeting our Safari Family, South Africa

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Day 1

FullSizeRenderI woke up before the alarm excited to start our 29 day Safari! Our hostel in Johannesburg still didn’t have any electricity so we packed in the dark. The taxi ride was shorter and cheaper than I expected arriving at the departure point, Boulevard Estates, very early. While killing time walking around, we saw chickens with baby chicks wandering around the lush green grounds. We noticed guests of the estates and figured they must be joining us in the tour. Looking around, it seemed like Sara and I would be the youngest couple on the trip until two college students showed up last minute. We all filled out some paperwork for the Nomad Safari and approached the truck. It was massive! It seats 24 plus there’s room for three up in the cab. There are storage areas under the floor and in the back of the truck creating plenty of space for days worth of supplies. We packed up and hit the road for a full day of driving with a destination of Botswana. Continue reading →

Bridge Climb in Sydney, Australia

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imageAfter hang gliding, Sara and I stayed at a rest stop about 20km north of Byron Bay. Why backtrack? Sara learned there is a farmers market in neighboring New Brighton every Tuesday. The Yelgun Rest Area was the busiest we’ve seen! I attribute it to the fact that camping is highly restricted in Byron Bay so everybody leaves town each night. In the morning, we left the crowd in search of the farmers market. Luck was on our side and a few minutes later we were strolling the tents. It was a wonderful little market where we found some local bread, cheese and hummus (it’s too bad we were already stocked on veggies). After I finally pulled Sara from the market’s grasp, we saw a post office in the general store and were able to mail a box of goodies home. Hopefully this box will arrive unopened. Our last shipment home (from New Zealand) arrived opened with several items missing and broken!

Even after the productive morning, we were able to start our long drive south reasonably early. Our destination was the Blue Mountains right outside of Sydney. Sara had been there many years ago and wanted to show me Continue reading →

Hang Gliding over Byron Bay, Australia

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FullSizeRender1Since leaving Sydney a month ago, we had planned to stop in Byron Bay to go hang gliding. Flying is something both Sara and I love and it seems so cool to be able to glide in the open without an engine. We did look into going in New Zealand but it was twice as expensive so decided to wait. Our friends in Sydney said Byron Bay had hang gliding for a reasonable price so we saved a few days to ensure a visit to the area.

We’ve been doing great finding free camping and it’s been almost two weeks since we have paid for a campsite. But there is no free camping in Byron Bay so we decided that it would be worthwhile to splurge for a Continue reading →

Snorkeling in Moreton Bay, Australia

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In a free guidebook, we saw a picture of shipwrecks jutting out of crystal clear water in Moreton Bay. I visioned us kayaking around the wrecks and jumping in to snorkel the artificial reefs. We drove from the Sunshine Coast to the top of Moreton Bay in the town of Redcliff. We stopped at an information site to book kayaks for the following day. But it was not meant to be. We learned we couldn’t kayak to the wrecks because they were off Moreton Island over 20 kilometers away. The only way to get to the Island was via a ferry from Brisbane. After a frustrating couple hours tying to find a good way to explore the wrecks, we finally came up with a plan – we would buy a day pass to a resort in the island which included the ferry transfer and then the just walk to the wrecks.

IMG_8577We camped in Redcliff that night at one of the few areas where they tolerate free camping. We were close to Brisbane and it was difficult to find any other options. We ended up staying in the parking lot of a park on Moreton Bay. It’s a pretty spot and we enjoyed the views while eating dinner. Seems that local teens also like that spot because we heard partiers coming and going all night. After a restless night Continue reading →